Question

In the Hardy-Weinberg equation shown below, p is the frequency of the dominant allele, and gis the recessive allele.

p'+ 2pq + 9 = 1
What does p² represent in the equation?
A. The frequency of the heterozygous dominant genotype
B. The frequency of the homozygous dominant genotype
C. The frequency of the homozygous recessive genotype
D. The frequency of the heterozygous recessive genotype

Answer 1

p² represents the frequency of the homozygous dominant genotype in the Hardy-Weinberg equation. Correct answer is B

Step-by-step explanation:

Correct answer is B. p² represents the frequency of the homozygous dominant genotype in the Hardy-Weinberg equation. In other words, it represents the frequency of individuals in a population who have two copies of the dominant allele for a particular trait.

The Hardy-Weinberg equation, p² + 2pq + q² = 1, is used to calculate the frequencies of different genotypes in a population under certain conditions of equilibrium. The p² term specifically represents the frequency of individuals with the homozygous dominant genotype.

In the Hardy-Weinberg equation, p² represents the frequency of the homozygous dominant genotype. This is the proportion of the population that has two dominant alleles for a specific gene.

For instance, if we have the allele for yellow peas (Y) as our dominant allele, and green peas (y) as our recessive allele, a plant with genotype YY (homozygous dominant) would have the frequency represented by p² in the Hardy-Weinberg equation. Hence, if the frequency of the dominant allele (p) is given as 0.4, the frequency of the homozygous dominant genotype (YY or p²) would be 0.4², which is 0.16 or 16% of the population.